Tag Archives: complemese

Today Paolo is 16 months old. We’ve spent the day at home just as we spend most of our at-home winter days: playing, cooking, and doing a few chores. Lately, Paolo’s favorite thing is to stand on stuff. Any and everything. Tables, chairs, the sofa, toys….When I snapped this, Paolo was multi-tasking. We were dancing to salsa music and he was also reading his favorite book (“Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”) while perched on his drum.

I must say, though, that this climbing/standing on/jumping off EVERYTHING is crazy. I have to be on the constant lookout that P doesn’t climb on the dining table chairs which he uses to climb onto the table and/or into his high chair. Or climb onto the ottoman, where he will dance around until he falls or jumps off. The same goes for the sofa, our bed, and every chair/stool in the house. And the toilets. It’s fun. Well, it’s fun for Paolo, at least.

Today Paolo turned 15 months. And he is sooo a 15-month-old. As in, he is very, very busy and expects me to entertain him every minute that he is awake. So I try, but he lets me know when he’s not entertained to his satisfaction. Loudly.

So, most of my normal chores and activities have fallen to the wayside. Including this blog. Since I did not send out a Christmas card this year either, I thought I’d post some fun pictures of what our holiday was like this year.

We planned to drive up to Rochester, Minnesota to visit my aunt’s family and my grandma for Christmas. So we had our little family Christmas here on December 23rd. We had a Neopolitan Christmas dinner (meaning all seafood) and opened our presents. Paolo mostly liked playing with the wrapping paper, ribbons, and discarded boxes. Except the miniature armchair that we bought for him. He love love loves having a mini big-boy chair; especially for reading books and watching videos.

Pre-Christmas eve dinner

Pre-Christmas eve presents

Paolo's fave present

Our plans were tarnished, though, when we woke up on Christmas eve. A big snowstorm had clobbered the Midwest, and there was no way to drive safely from Iowa up to Minnesota. So we ended up having to stay home and celebrated Christmas Eve again, without our relatives. It was still a fun, snowed-in day. And that evening, we video chatted with my family while opening the presents we had all exchanged. Which was really awesome, almost like we were able to spend the holiday together. (Since then we’ve started video chatting through our Xbox Kinect, which is way better, because you can basically talk through the TV. I wish we had set it up over Christmas!)

Christmas eve snowstorm

Christmas eve nap

Christmas eve

Then, on Christmas Day, Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) stopped by. A little later, when the roads were drivable, we went down to Des Moines to have Christmas dinner with my Aunt Jackie and her family. She already has such a big family of her own; it was so nice of her to have us down, especially at the last minute. Even though our plans to go to Minnesota for the holiday didn’t work out, we still had a fun and festive Christmas.

Babbo Natale stopped by

Babbo Natale stopped by (2)

Babbo Natale stopped by (3)

Destruct-o-bot

I don't know about all this snow

Christmas Day 2010

The day after Christmas, I picked up my dad and brother Zack from the Des Moines airport. As excited as we were to have them come for a visit, it was for a sad reason. My Grandma Main passed away three days before Christmas this year. At 90 years old, she had lived a good life, with nine children, dozens of grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren. It was especially hard watching my 94-year-old grandfather, aunties, and of course, my father, mourn her passing. The funeral was held the Tuesday after Christmas, in my father’s hometown of Storm Lake. The mass was said at his childhood church and the reception was held at the local Knights of Colombus hall. I didn’t snap as many photos as I would have liked, but I did take this quick picture of my dad and grandpa at lunch, just after the burial. (What you can’t see in this photo is that Paolo is sitting across from my Grandpa here, doing his best to make him laugh. Paolo just loves his great-grandpa; when we go to visit, Paolo just follows him around and laughs.)

Granpa & Dad

Dad and Zack stayed with us through the New Year. We had a good time. On New Years Eve, we picked up a few groceries and had lunch at the local co-op. Then, they took Paolo with them down to Des Moines to visit Grandpa, leaving Giuseppe and I on our own for the afternoon.

Which was glorious. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves! In a small town, in the middle of winter, there is not too much to do on a whim. But we managed to have a great time. We first stopped for coffee in a little diner downtown. (Just the two of us! No baby food fights or mess to clean up!) Then we went to see the third movie of the “Focker” triology, “Little Fockers.” It was hilarious. After, we went to a quick cafe` for mid-afternoon treat. We had a such a lovely afternoon, it was so nice to know that Paolo was off with his Gramps and Uncle Zack, having fun, while Giuseppe and I were able to have a little quality time alone.

Then, for New Year’s Eve, Giuseppe was on call, so we planned a night in. After putting Paolo to bed, we started a championship, winner-take-all, five-hour-long game of Monopoly. (I know, the exciting life we live! So glamourous.) But it was really fun! Twice, though, during the game, the electricity went out due to, yes, yet another holiday snow storm. It became so cold in 40 minutes without electricity, that we were getting ready to go find a hotel. Luckily, we didn’t have to. Long story short, a couple hours after our midnight toast to the New Year, I WON the championship. I was very pleased with myself.

New year's eve 2010

New year's eve 2010

On New Year’s Day, Dad and Zack were supposed to leave, but due to – surprise surprise – weather conditions/mechanical plane problems, they were delayed for another few days. So we had a few more days of holiday fun before they flew out that Monday.

New years day 2011

Then, on the Feast of the Epiphany, there is the Italian tradition of La Befana, a scary old witch that leaves chocolate in the stockings of good children. (See my article on La Befana at Our Mommyhood.) Paolo had fun digging through the Befana stocking, even if Giuseppe is really the one who was excited about the chocolate.

La calza della Befana

La Befana came!

The next day, January 7th, marked the official end of our holiday season. I took down all of our Christmas decorations and tree. Our house looks so empty (and orderly!) now.

Paolo just woke up, so it’s lunch time. Maybe during his nap tomorrow I will be able to tackle thank-you notes and answer email…

Today my baby turned nine months old. It’s hard to believe that he has been in this world as long as he was cooking in my belly.

He is growing out of the newborn phase and really becoming a character. Through his babbling, grunting, and laughing, Paolo is extraordinarily communicative. Sometimes I imagine he is going to open his mouth and just start talking to us in full sentences.

Still not yet crawling, Paolo’s modes of independent transportation include running around in his walker (he rarely walks in it, usually he’s “running” as fast as he can), scooting backwards on his tummy, and rolling around the room. I’ve become his taxi driver; I get “hailed” quite frequently, and usually in the middle of meal preparation. It is surprising that he’s not crawling just yet, as being on the move his is absolute favorite.

This past month has been quite busy, so it has gone by very quickly. But then again, what else is new? The weeks seem to disappear at an alarming speed. I can only imagine that next month will be just as quick.

Today, Friday, June 11, 2010, my little Paolo turned eight months old. I could go on and on about how big he is (last time we checked he was at about 21 pounds!), just how much I can’t believe that he is already eight months old (it’s crazy!), and so close to turning one year old (in only four months!), but I will refrain.

It is so cliche` yet so true: They grow so quickly!

We are still living it up in Hawaii. This morning, Justin, Paolo, and I drove over Kailua to do breakfast with Abby and little Harrison. It was, as always, so much fun to see them. Here the babies are last week, when we had dinner at Buzz’s; they are totally going to be buds:

How cute are they?

After breakfast, we came home. Paolo spent the afternoon playing with all of the toys from JoJo and BoBo, while I worked on my computer, sprawled on the same blanket. After a long nap, the entire Main clan decided to head out for a nice dinner to celebrate Paolo’s eight-month-old complemese.

Well, mostly, we wanted to go out for a nice dinner, so we did. The entire Main clan dined at Roy’s at Ko Olina. It was absolutely divine. I think Paolo enjoyed himself. I sure did. I especially enjoyed the fruity cocktails. I have never been much of a cocktail girl; I usually prefer a dry glass of wine or a crisp beer. There is something about Hawaii that is bringing out the cocktail in me; I am totally loving them!

Today Paolo turned seven months old. My little newborn is closer to being one year old than to when he was born. I feel so lucky to be a mother. Having a sweet cuddly baby around is a constant delight and true gift. Even with the cranky days and the poop explosions. (Don’t even get me started there, what with the solids he’s been gobbling down lately.)

Here is my little man sitting on the floor, playing with some toys that, no matter how hard I try, are constantly contaminated with black dog hair. At least Paolo will have a strong immune system, right?

Notice that is an action shot. Paolo thinks that my cell phone (as that is still my only camera) is the most amazing toy in the world. Whenever he sees me take it out or hears it ringing, he gets super excited. I mean his little arms start shaking and he tries to take it out of my hands. And if he does manage to get ahold of it, it goes straight in his mouth. And he often likes to lick the touchscreen, which is really nice. And all of this happens really quickly, so I am surprised that he hasn’t actually done any damage yet. I suppose I should be more careful, but it’s so funny to watch him. He just loves it. So you can imagine me trying to sneak a photo of him before he realizes that I’ve whipped out my cell phone.

Today I was looking at my little man thinking about how big he has become. It is incredible. His legs have become so long that when I feed him, he can wrap himself around my body. Which is a far cry from my days of snuggling him up on top of the Boppy nursing pillow. Now I think he’s bigger than that pillow!

Our little lovebug is six months old today!

Paolo is more indigenous than ever. If you couldn’t tell from the photos, he love love loves to be naked. It’s his favorite thing, ever. If ever he seems like he may be uncomfortable, bored, or fussy, if I strip him down, he is the happiest little creature you have ever seen. Paolo can chew on his toes and play with his feet, which I suppose is awesome for a baby. The other thing he likes to do is chew on his thumb. Not suck on it, but chew it. I think he is dying for some teeth to come out.

It is so strange that I can’t believe he is already six months old, but at the same time, it feels like he has always been a part of me.

Six months! This month we have a lot of milestones to look forward to: introducing more solids, sitting up alone, maybe he’ll say “mamma,” more rolling over… I mean, he is a genius baby after all. (I know, I know. I must be the only mother on the entire planet who thinks her lil’ babe is amazing. Hah.)